Method and system for providing personal travel advice to a user
First Claim
1. A method of providing personalized travel advice over the Internet to a computer user, including the steps of:
- (A) preparing a profile of personal travel preferences for an individual;
(B) preparing a travel request for an individual or group of individuals including profiles for said individual or group;
(C) combining a profile of at least one individual, with information obtained from said at least one individual concerning travel preferences for a particular travel arrangement to obtain a set of personalized scores;
(D) mapping said personalized scores onto a database of expert information concerning destinations; and
(E) matching characteristics of those destinations with said at least one profile and travel request to produce a list of recommended travel destinations.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for providing personal travel advice to a user is provided. The method and system includes a profiling engine that prepares a personalized profile for a particular user by gathering user-specific data regarding an individual'"'"'s likes, dislikes, lifestyle, interests, activities and budget for the vacation. Several profiles for members of a group travelling together can be combined to obtain recommendations for the group. An advice engine combines information from various expert knowledge bases to provide recommended travel destinations. The profiles may also be used to check a destination for its appropriateness, and to request a similar destination to one enjoyed previously by the individual or the group.
126 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method of providing personalized travel advice over the Internet to a computer user, including the steps of:
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(A) preparing a profile of personal travel preferences for an individual;
(B) preparing a travel request for an individual or group of individuals including profiles for said individual or group;
(C) combining a profile of at least one individual, with information obtained from said at least one individual concerning travel preferences for a particular travel arrangement to obtain a set of personalized scores;
(D) mapping said personalized scores onto a database of expert information concerning destinations; and
(E) matching characteristics of those destinations with said at least one profile and travel request to produce a list of recommended travel destinations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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16. The method as defined in clam 14 including the further step of:
providing prescribed personalities that are predefined full profiles that fit a particular personality type design.
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22. A system for providing personal travel advice to a user, comprising:
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(A) a travel advice server including an information storage device, a central processing unit controlled by an associated clock, a communications port and a destination storage device including;
(1) a profiling engine for preparing a profile of an individual user based upon the user input regarding travel characteristics and preferences; and
(2) an advice engine that accesses a destination base, database and a database of expert knowledge to provide travel advice and recommendations based upon said individual profile produced by said profiling engine, and the information in said destination database and said expert knowledge database;
(B) Internet service provider interface; and
(C) personal computer coupled with said Internet service provider interface, which in turn communicates with, said server through which personalized travel advice is provided to said user via a personal computer. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 27)
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23. The system as described in clam 22, wherein
said profiling engine includes means for producing a user interface on said personal computer using which information may be obtained from said user by said user moving a cursor associated with said personal computer along a sliding scale to indicate the degree to which said user evaluates a particular parameter related to travel.
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26. A method of providing personalized travel and leisure advice to a user, including the steps of:
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(A) preparing a profile of personal travel and leisure preferences for and individual;
(B) obtaining a request from said individual for a specific instance of travel or leisure pursuits;
(C) combining said profile and said request for said individual to obtain a set of personalized scores;
(D) mapping said set of personalized scores onto a database of expert information concerning travel and leisure;
(E) matching characteristics of travel and leisure items with said individual'"'"'s profile and request to produce a personalized list of recommended travel and leisure pursuits for that individual.
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Specification